In an unapologetic interview Russian President Vladimir Putin made it crystal clear: Russia will not give up until ‘all of Ukraine is ours’ — and he’s daring the West to try and change that.
Putin doubled down on Russia’s stance, insisting that any so-called “peace” negotiations must respect the “will of the people” living in the annexed Ukrainian regions — referendums that Western leaders love to dismiss as “shams.”
But from Putin’s perspective, this is about democracy — Russian-style. “The will of the people is what we call democracy,” he said, referring to the 2022 referendums in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Crimea, all of which voted overwhelmingly to join Russia. Of course, the West screamed “illegitimate,” but that hasn’t stopped Moscow from moving forward with full-on integration.
PUTIN: “I have already said many times: Russians and Ukrainians are one people— in this sense, the whole of Ukraine is ours… But we have never questioned Ukraine’s sovereignty. At the same time, the conditions under which Ukraine became independent were set forth in the 1991… pic.twitter.com/nV4Fbf4Grr
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) June 20, 2025
Putin’s message to Ukraine’s leadership? Stop being Washington’s puppet. “I hope Ukraine’s leaders will be guided by national interests, not the interests of its sponsors,” he said, calling out its NATO cronies for dragging Ukraine into a proxy war to serve globalist agendas. According to Putin, Ukraine is being exploited — not defended.
And then came the warning shot.
Speaking to business leaders in St. Petersburg, Putin went as far as threatening nuclear retaliation if Ukraine dares to escalate. “We always respond and respond in kind,” he said. “It could be their last mistake.” He said the use of a “dirty bomb” by Kyiv would trigger catastrophic consequences, promising a response so severe it would stun the world.
Putin also reasserted his belief that Ukraine and Russia are “one nation,” declaring ominously, “In this sense, all of Ukraine is ours.” A chilling reminder of just how far he’s willing to go — and a massive red flag that the war is far from over.
Meanwhile, on the ground, Russia claims to have captured another Ukrainian village in Donetsk. Ukraine’s own military is under constant aerial assault, with over 200 Russian drones hitting Zaporizhzhia in a single day, according to Ukrainian officials.
Despite the pounding, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continues his worldwide arms-begging tour. Now he’s proposing joint weapons production with Denmark, Norway, Germany, Canada, the UK, and Lithuania — and asking Western taxpayers to fork over 0.25% of their countries’ GDP to bankroll his crumbling war effort.
The West’s ruling elites want endless war — not peace. Washington, Brussels, and London seem more interested in funneling billions to defense contractors than actually stopping the bloodshed. Putin sees through it and is now positioning Russia as the defiant alternative to globalist overreach.
Ukraine is bleeding, the West is escalating, and Putin is promising fire and steel if NATO crosses the line. The question now: Will Western leaders stop before they start World War III — or is this the point of no return?